Best mosquito killer?

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Asian Tigers require Lurex attractant in your MM, not the octenol that comes
with it and is available at HD.
Asian Tigers only bite in the middle of the day.
I'm in Fort Worth and we don't seem to have any Asian Tigers around here.

LOL!
Isn't Lurex a trade name for a fabric?
It is not to be confused with a different product of the same namefrom
American Biophysics [can you say "trade name theft"?], which more than likely
contains octanol [not to be confused with octenol].
If I were the Dow Badische company, I'd sue the bastards.
--
-john
wide-open at throttle dot info
~~~~~~~~
The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining
- JFK
~~~~~~~~

On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 17:46:21 GMT, "suzn"
:) Get a bat.
:) Not a baseball bat....a real bat.
:) They love mosquito's.
Interesting article from the Texas Mosquito Control Association site
http://www.texasmosquito.org/bats.html
Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!
It is said that the early bird gets the worm,
but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

Hmmm...
For more bat information...
Go to the, already mentioned, Bat Conservation International at:
http://www.batcon.org /
use their search and see numerous articles about bats and mosquitos,
some by Dr. Tuttle (whom I have met on numerous occasions). I would
venture a guess that he is THE world expert on bats.
The largest bat population in the world is in a cave in Central Texas,
Bracken Bat Cave. I have visited there many, many times. Bracken is a
nursery colony, the females give birth and raise young there, most of
the bachelors are under the Congress Stree bridge in Austin. These are
Mexican Freetails.
Estimates of insect consumption per year are well over 6,000 tons.

Yes, very neat (stinky too)!
The REAL show is at Bracken - bigger-better-faster-stronger! It's like a
50 foot wide tornado rising out of the sinkhole to treetop level, where
it runs off over the trees like a river for a mile or two. The Red
Tailed hawks come in and snatch them out of the aerial stream for
snacks! I've even witnessed rattlesnakes grabbing them out of the air
from the entrance wall. Every now and then you can see the rare albinos
in the vortex, they stick out well against the dark wall of bats. These
are Mexican Freetail bats. They winter in South America, although a
small few stay year around in the cave.
A fellow here in central Texas, has created a man made bat cave. He
enlisted the help of the Bat Conservancy to design it. The whole purpose
was to mine guano. He laid a concrete slab of a couple of acres and used
rebar and steel to build domes, which he then gunnited and then he
buried the whole thing in earth (basically an upsidedown pool). The
entrance is just large enough for a front-end loader to go in and scoop
the poop. It's been very successful.
There is another cave at Kickapoo Caverns State Park that has a very
nice bat flight, Stewart Bat Cave. I did some volunteer work there at
the cave for the Park service a few times. It used to be a shelter for
goats and sheep!
Yet another bat flight is at an old railroad tunnel out near -I wanna
say- Beorne? or is it Frederickburg? I've not visited that one.

There is no magic cure to eliminate large numbers of mosquitoes in your yard
without repeatedly spraying your yard with insecticides, as many cities in
this country have resorted to doing. It does work, though - my parents who
now live in Florida say there are less mosquitoes there (where spraying is a
common occurrence) than there are in Iowa.
First I'll discuss some things that DON'T work or have very little effect:
Electronic repellers. Studies have shown that female mosquitoes do not flee
from male mosquitoes and mosquitoes as a whole will not flee the area from
dragonflies. They will not prevent mosquitoes from biting.
Bug zappers. They look cool and can be cheap entertainment on a summer
night, but studies have shown that biting insects only make up around 1% of
the take. Reasons not to get them include killing beneficial insects and
potential spreading of disease by exploding insect bodies (NEVER place these
near areas where there is food or people eating).
Citrosa plants. Mosquitoes will land on it, proving that it does not
produce enough citronella oil to repel insects.
Citronella candles or incense. They only work for the area downwind of the
smoke. One study showed citronella candles being 42% more effective at
preventing bites on people near the candles versus no candles, but even
ordinary candles were 23% more effective (the incense was no more effective
than the regular candles).
Bats/purple martins/swallows. Purple martin colonies need maintenance while
swallows and bats are potential health hazards. All for creatures for which
mosquitoes make up only a small portion of their diet at best (they are
opportunistic and will go for larger prey like flies, dragonflies, and
beetles before settling for huge numbers of mosquitoes).
What DOES work:
Knowing your enemy. It's easier to kill them in the larval stage than in
the adult stage. While some mosquitoes can travel upwards of 30 miles, the
Culex mosquito (thought to be the primary carrier of the West Nile Virus)
will only fly .5 to 1.5 miles from their breeding site. Some won't go
farther than 200-300 yds from where they breed. Also see if you can find
out (from your local public health department?) what species are most
active. You can have dozens of species of mosquito in the same area, all
with different behaviors (day vs night biters, whether they bite or not),
risks of carrying disease, and breeding behavior (some need a puddle, some
need a wet piece of ground that will dry out and get wet again).
Go on a thorough mosquito-proofing venture in your home and neighborhood.
Eliminate places where water is left standing (old tires, trash left
outside, blocked gutters, buckets, childrens swimming pools, tarps,
flowerpot saucers, pet dishes). Birdbaths and wading pools should have
their water changed at least once a week. If you have ponds, stock them
with mosquito fish or treat them with larvicide. Cover or drill holes in
the bottom of any containers that must remain outside (like garbage cans or
tire swings). Fix leaking hoses or water pipes. If you have depressions
where water collects (old stumps, low areas in your yard), fill them in. If
a puddle of water lasts undisturbed for 4 days near your house, it can
potentially breed mosquitoes. Be careful of taking any action on ditches
near your home as they may be protected wetlands.
Mosquitoes rest in weeds and vegetation during their inactive periods, so
keep your yard and surrounding areas mowed and use a weed whacker to
eliminate tall grass from around your house that your mower may not be able
to reach. You can apply residual insecticides to vegetation (like flowers)
that you can't or don't want to eliminate.
Foggers can provide temporary relief by killing mosquitoes in the
vegetation. It will not work in the long-term but works great if you're
having a planned family gathering. Spray during the early morning or
evening as rising air currents from the heat of the day will make the fog
rise and be ineffective. If you have an event, spray the morning before,
evening before, and the morning the day of for maximum effectiveness.
A pesticide-free way to protect family gatherings outside is with electric
fans. Mosquitoes hate strong wind currents.
Mosquito traps. They do work, but they are expensive and there is still a
lot of debate over how much area they really protect (I wouldn't give them
any more credit than a few hundred yards downwind). They are also not a
method of sole mosquito control. If you are depending on them as such, you
are wasting your money.
- Joanne
If everyone in the country would spend just one afternoon finding and
eliminating sources of standing water around their homes, there would be a
massive decrease in mosquito populations.

Smoke would be better than nothing and that's about all that can be said on
the matter. If you're going to do smoke, why not try tiki torches with
citronella-treated oil around the perimeter?
Personally I would suggest candles, electric fans, and plenty of
DEET-containing insect repellent.
- Joanne
(who is currently scratching several bug bites from the July 4th weekend at
the cabin)

Sorry if someone already mentioned this, which I read on a household
tips page last week (I haven't tried it):
"Put some water in a white dinner plate and add a couple drops of Lemon
Fresh Joy dish detergent. Set the dish on your porch, patio, or other
outdoor area. Not sure what attracts them, the lemon smell, the white
plate color, or what, but mosquitoes flock to it, and drop dead shortly
after drinking the Lemon Fresh Joy/water mixture, and usually within
about 10 feet of the plate. Check this out---it works just super! May
seem trivial, but it may help control mosquitoes around your home,
especially in the South and elsewhere where the West Nile virus is
reaching epidemic proportions in mosquitoes, birds, and humans."

:Sorry if someone already mentioned this, which I read on a household
;tips page last week (I haven't tried it):
:"Put some water in a white dinner plate and add a couple drops of Lemon
;Fresh Joy dish detergent. Set the dish on your porch, patio, or other
:outdoor area. Not sure what attracts them, the lemon smell, the white
;plate color, or what, but mosquitoes flock to it, and drop dead shortly
:after drinking the Lemon Fresh Joy/water mixture, and usually within
;about 10 feet of the plate. Check this out---it works just super! May
:seem trivial, but it may help control mosquitoes around your home,
;especially in the South and elsewhere where the West Nile virus is
:reaching epidemic proportions in mosquitoes, birds, and humans."
See http://www.snopes.com/spoons/oldwives/dishsoap.htm

I tried it as of yesterday. In a few hours since it looked like rain
I moved the plate under the eave. It had a small mosquito in it at
that time. This morning i checked it and there were 4 dead mosquitos
in it.....all small. Does that mean males? The biters around here
have a wingspan of about 1 1/2 inches.
I am looking for a natural mosquito repellant. Not 'natural' as in a
tube or spray of something at the store for $5 but natural as in what
might be around the house.
FACE

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